Hello people and welcome back to Skyrim: Darkblade Chronicles. Time for the moment I've been waiting for...the end of the road of their noble search to find Serana's long-lost mommy, or should I say, the beginning of the end. Boy that sounded less ominous in my head...


As we cut through the sentries blocking our path through Serana's home, I slowly began to ponder the weight and value of choice. She knew she was going to stop at nothing to find her estranged mother, and I knew I would stop at nothing to assist her in any way possible. I knew not the magnitude of Valerica's choice, nor how many she made. Although, given how taxing the invariable fruits of her labor have been, I believe I may have had more similarities to her than I'd dare admit.

As for my own, independent matter, I had chosen to do what I believed would be of benefit to Skyrim, and her peoples. There was another war rising, and the best wars won are the ones never fought. My vow to uphold whatever balance was available was once again tested, but I was no less determined to see it through.

Even if that meant I would be required to make choices I swore to never make...


After they opened the secret entrance, Sheldon and Serana climbed several flights of stairs...and Sheldon picked up every item on the way. From a plate, to multiple linen wraps, and ruined books, to an inkwell, a quill, and a goblet...no item on the stairs was wasted. When they reached the end, they found another wooden door, and Sheldon stepped aside as Serana walked toward it.

She then stopped a few feet from the door, sighed deeply, then she pushed the door open.

"What in...?" Sheldon breathed out as they entered the room, and the first detail they saw was the multi-leveled circle in the middle of the room, surrounded by lit, and unlit candles. The mammoth skull on the wall on the right side of the room was over a table littered with bones of both animals, and people. On the opposite side of the room was a balcony with cabinets filled with alchemy ingredients, potions, poisons, soul gems of all types, ruined books, and miscellaneous tools.

Serana was interested in the room with no less enthusiasm than Sheldon...

"Look at this place. This has to be it!" Serana said seriously.

"It's no wonder she wanted to keep this place a secret, and how far she went to do so." Sheldon said, then Serana walked toward the table with bones.

"I knew she was deep into necromancy. I mean, she taught me everything I know. But I had no idea she had a setup like this." She said, then she looked over the bones as Sheldon followed her, and looked back at the alchemy supplies on the other side of the room.

"And the chances are no one else does either." Sheldon said, then he looked at Serana again as she looked over the bones.

"Look at all this. She must have spent years collecting these components...and what's this thing?" She asked as she turned to the circle.

"Whatever it is, I sincerely doubt it's there for decoration." Sheldon said seriously.

"I'm not sure about this circle, but it's obviously...something." Serana said.

"Then let's look into it." Sheldon said.

"Let's take a look around. There has to be something here that tells us where she's gone." Serana said.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Sheldon asked.

"My mother was meticulous about her research. If we can find her notes, there might be some hints in there." Serana said.

"Very well then." Sheldon said simply.

"I remember she used to keep a small journal. See if you can dig it up." Serana said as she pointed at the cabinets full of books behind Sheldon.

"I'll search there, you look somewhere else." Sheldon said.

"Alright." Serana said, then she went to the cabinets on the other side of the room, and Sheldon went to the cabinets behind him, and rummaged through them...until he saw a small, red, book, and immediately opened it...


27th Last Seed

Harkon's shortsightedness is becoming a serious problem. I've warned him time and time again that his foolish prophecy would cast far too much light on our people and yet he refuses to so much listen to a word I say. I've become less a wife and more of an annoyance in his eyes. Devoting attention to my work is the only solace I can find while enduring his ridiculous crusade.

28th Last Seed

I've had a breakthrough today. I was able to attune the portal vessel to the Soul Cairn properly by using a small sample of ingredients.

Although the portal opened only for a few seconds, I'm confident that with the proper formula, it can be sustained indefinitely. I feel like I'm missing a key ingredient, something of sufficient potency that can resist the forces trying to prevent my intrusion. Communing with the Ideal Masters has proved worthless. They speak in riddles and offer no assistance whether I ensure them a steady supply of souls or not. If I'm to escape Harkon's clutches, I need to keep the portal open long enough to carry me away from here... forever if need be.

3rd Hearthfire

I've done it! After wasting thousands of gold coins on components, I've discovered how to sustain the portal. I'm listing the components below without the proper amounts for my own protection. As a secondary precaution, I am combining my own blood into the formula which should prevent anyone from being able to duplicate it and following me into the Soul Cairn.

The formula consists of:

Finely Ground Bone Meal
Purified Void Salt
Soul gem shards

Using the proper measurements, place above in the silver-lined portal vessel and add blood as a reactive agent.

I will make my way into the Soul Cairn tomorrow after I gather my things and prepare for a potentially lengthy exile. More importantly, I must enact my plans with Serana, and get her to Dimhollow Crypt as soon as possible.


Sheldon then took off his helmet, and stored it in his satchel...which revealed his widened eyes.

"Dear Divines...Serana!" He exclaimed, then he ran to Serana, and she stopped looking through the cabinets.

"What? Any luck yet?" She asked.

"I found your mother's notes." Sheldon said.

"You did? Let me see them." Serana said, then Sheldon gave her the journal, moved to her side, and looked through the pages as she did.

"What's this "Soul Cairn" that she mentions?" Sheldon asked.

"I only know what she told me. She had a theory about soul gems. That the souls inside of them don't just vanish when they're used... they end up in the Soul Cairn." Serana said.

"Why did she care where used souls went?" Sheldon asked.

"The Soul Cairn is home to very powerful beings. Necromancers send them souls, and receive powers of their own in return." Serana said seriously.

"Sounds like a shortcut with a price that's too steep to pay." Sheldon said.

"Sheldon...you do not know the half of it. But either way, my mother spent a lot of time trying to contact them directly, to travel to the Soul Cairn itself." Serana said.

"If she made it there, we'll find her." Sheldon said, then Serana looked at the circle.

"That circle in the center of the room is definitely some type of portal. If I'm reading this right, there's a formula here that should give us safe passage into the Soul Cairn." She said.

"What do we need?" Sheldon asked.

"A handful of soul gem shards, some finely-ground bone meal, a good bit of purified void salts...oh, damn it..." Serana groaned as she looked away.

"What?" Sheldon asked, then Serana looked at Sheldon.

"We're also going to need a sample of her blood. Which...if we could get that, we wouldn't even be trying to do this in the first place." Serana said seriously.

"Could she have left a sample in this room?" Sheldon asked, then Serana took a moment to think.

"I highly doubt that...try Clairvoyance." She said, then Sheldon used the spell...and sighed deeply.

"You were right to doubt." Sheldon said.

"Great, now what do we do?" Serana said seriously, then Sheldon took a moment to think.

"You share her blood..." He trailed off.

"Hmmm, not bad. We'd better hope that's good enough. Mistakes with these kind of portals can be...gruesome." Serana asked.

"How gruesome exactly?" Sheldon asked.

"Pulled-inside-out gruesome." Serana said simply, then Sheldon stared at her.

"Enough said..." Sheldon breathed out.

"Anyway, enough of that, let's get started." Serana said.

"Are all of those ingredients here?" Sheldon asked.

"Oh, definitely. Mother would have plenty of those materials in her laboratory, you just need to find them." Serana said.

"In the meantime...we could make use of the items here." Sheldon said, then Serana sighed deeply.

"If we do find my mother, she's going to kill us." She said.

"If she's displeased, I'll compensate her later, but for now...maybe you could put the bone meal I gathered to use and make potions for yourself." Sheldon said, then Serana took a moment to think.

"Alright, fork it over." She said, then Sheldon walked up the stairs, to the table next to the alchemy lab, and materialized over a dozen bone meal samples.

"Here you are." Sheldon said, then Serana looked over the bone meal.

"You got more from those boneheads than I thought." She said seriously.

"Indeed, as for the secondary ingredients, I'll give them to you as needed. Case and point..." Sheldon trailed off, then he materialized an equally-sized portion of blue mountain flowers, and lavender next to the bones meal.

"This is going to take awhile..." Serana said casually, then she approached the alchemy lab, cracked her knuckles, and put the lab to use.

"Before I search for the ingredients, I need some answers." Sheldon said.

"Hit me." Serana said.

"Is there anything you can tell me about the Soul Cairn?" Sheldon asked.

"The Soul Cairn is a tiny sliver of Oblivion, the realm of the daedra. It's ruled by unseen beings known as the Ideal Masters." Serana said, then Sheldon smirked.

"A humble title..." He said casually.

"Well given as they control their own plane of Oblivion, they have a right to be cocky, especially considering why it's used." Serana said.

"Why was your mother so fascinated by it?" Sheldon asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. Necromancers are always interested in souls, though, so that probably has some kind of interest." Serana said.

"What exactly are these Ideal Masters?" Sheldon said.

"Nobody really knows. As far as I've heard, no one's seen them and returned to Tamriel to tell about it." Serana said seriously.

"Then how are you sure they even exist?" Sheldon asked.

"I've read stories. Stories about fools that managed to... communicate with them. You give the Ideal Masters souls, they give you powers to summon the undead. It's all very business-like." Serana said.

"You called them 'fools". Why?" Sheldon asked.

"Because most of the stories end with the Ideal Masters duping the necromancers, who end up dead or wishing they were dead." Serana said, then Sheldon looked away.

"So it is a shortcut that cannot be afforded." He said seriously.

"And we're going to save my mother from them...no pressure, right?" Serana said casually.

"Well, fortunately, I have more than a small amount of experience dealing with Oblivion, and the beings that live there." Sheldon said.

"And so do I." Serana said.

"Then we have nothing to fear." Sheldon said, then Serana looked at him curiously.

"Wait a minute, didn't you get any information on the Ideal Masters, and the Soul Cairn itself for that matter, while you were a vampire?" She asked seriously.

"I was only interested in information that helped me combat vampires, necromancers, and other forces I considered unholy. The details of their origins meant little to me." Sheldon said.

"That's a...pretty sharp contrast to how you are now." Serana said.

"That's because I recognized the folly of focusing on what I'm fighting, instead of thinking of the nature of the world around me. And as far as I'm concerned, I learned that lesson too late, but that's all the more reason to never repeat that mistake again." Sheldon said.

"And good on you for it..." Serana said, then Sheldon looked around.

"Your mother maintained quite a laboratory." He said.

"I had no idea that her laboratory even existed. She had an alchemy setup in her drawing room, but nothing that even comes close to what's here." Serana said seriously.

"What did she research?" Sheldon asked.

"Looking at the equipment and materials, it looks like she was trying to advance her necromancy." Serana said.

"To what end?" Sheldon asked.

"I don't know. Certainly not longevity. Kind of a waste of time for a vampire." Serana said.

"Indeed, from what I've gathered, she might as well have been trying to raise and empower an army of undead to overthrow your father." Sheldon said.

"Ambitious as that would have been, she was more than smart enough to know that would've been a bad idea." Serana said.

"Believe it or not, I was jesting." Sheldon said.

"Either way, we're finally here, and answers are within reach, so will you please finish your work, and leave me to my own?" Serana asked, then Sheldon wandered the room, and found the soul gem shards in a bowl a few meters behind him. He then went to the other side of the upper level, and found the purified void salts in a large bowl among the fire, frost, and regular void salts. He then jumped off of the balcony, went to the table with the bones on it, and took the finely-ground bone meal from the bowl there.

He then went back to the upper level, and Serana approached the tall bowl at the balcony's opening.

"I have the ingredients." Sheldon said.

"Alright, and I have over a dozen potions now, thanks to you." Serana said.

"Very good." Sheldon said.

"Now, get the ingredients in the vessel and let me know when you're ready." Serana said.

"Right away." Sheldon said, then he put the three ingredients into the bowl.

"Then the rest is up to me. Are you ready to go? I'm not entirely sure what this thing is going to do when I add my blood." Serana said.

"Before you do, may I ask you something first?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course. What is it?" Serana asked, then Sheldon looked away, then looked at her again.

"What will you do if we find your mother?" Sheldon asked, then Serana took a moment to think.

"I've been asking myself the same thing since we came back to the castle. She was so sure of what we did to my father, I couldn't help but go along with her. I never thought of the cost." She said.

"I don't know what she was thinking." Sheldon said.

"Neither do I. She always seemed happy, before we heard the prophecy. Then it all changed; she became a different person, they both did." Serana said.

"Well, we won't know until we find her." Sheldon said.

"Yes...yes, you're right. I'm sorry. I just didn't expect anyone to care how I felt about her. Thank you. Are we ready then?" Serana asked, then Sheldon smirked.

"Let's get that portal open." He said.

"All right, here goes." Serana said, then she approached the bowl, removed her glove, sank her fangs into her wrist, and let the blood pour onto the ingredients. Seconds later, the ground shook violently as the circle split apart, and the sections swirled around and through the space between each other. As the stones rotated, and shifted in an organized manner, a bright purple fire raged beneath them, but no heat was emitted.

When it was over, the sections of the multi-sectioned circle has formed a staircase leading down into the fire.

"By the blood of my ancestors. She actually did it...created a portal to the Soul Cairn. Incredible." Serana breathed out.

"Incredible indeed..." Sheldon said as he and Serana stared upon the portal that radiated unholy power, but was still worth of their awe.

"Well, we aren't going to find your mother standing here." Sheldon said casually, then he walked down the stairs, then the portal's energy surged in and out of his body, and Sheldon retreated from it as he hissed and tensed his entire body.

"Are you alright? That looked painful." Serana said.

"It was. What happened?" Sheldon asked seriously.

"Now that I think about it...I should have expected that, sorry. It's hard to describe. The Soul Cairn is...well, hungry, for lack of a better word. It's trying to take your life essence as payment." Serana said, then Sheldon sighed deeply.

"So we opened that portal for nothing?" He asked.

"There might be, but I don't think you're going to like it. Vampires aren't counted among the living. I could probably go through there without a problem." Serana said, then Sheldon looked at her intensely.

"Are you saying that I need to become a vampire...again?" He asked seriously.

"Not your first choice, I'd guess?" Serana asked.

"Is there no other way?" Sheldon asked.

"Maybe. We could just 'pay the toll' another way. It wants a soul, so we give it a soul. Yours." Serana said.

"Wouldn't that...kill me?" Sheldon asked.

"My mother taught me a trick or two. I could partially soul trap you, and offer that gem to the Ideal Masters." Serana said.

"You can partially soul trap too?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes, now let me finish. That might be enough to satisfy them. It would make you a bit weaker when we travel through the Soul Cairn, but we might be able to fix that once we're inside. Maybe." Serana said, then Sheldon looked away.

"Are those my only options?" He asked.

"I'm sorry. I wish I knew a better way, something that would be easier for you. Just know that...whatever path you choose, I won't think any less of you. Sometimes things just have to be done. I know that better than anybody." Serana said softly.

"I need some time to think." Sheldon said.

"Alright...I'll be right here." Serana said, then Sheldon leaned forward on one of the railings, and he sighed deeply. The gravity of the decision he had to make, and the weight it put on his body was almost literal. Sheldon's heavy armor seemed to pull him toward the ground with twice the power it did under normal circumstances as his body language showed.

There was no denying his disdain for vampires, and vampirism itself, but that would normally make choosing to be soul trapped easy for most people. Yet Sheldon's decision was anything but quick; his eye movements showed the number of thoughts going through his mind, and the speed with which they did so. His deep, slow breathing reflected the amount of strength needed to control, and combat whatever ailed his mind.

At one point, Sheldon even materialized his helmet, stared at it for almost a minute, then he turned to Serana.

"Have you made up your mind?" She asked, then Sheldon closed his eyes, nodded, and looked at Serana intensely.

"Turn me." Sheldon said seriously.

"Are you sure? I'm willing to turn you, but you need to think it through. You'd become the very thing you've sworn to destroy, and I don't know how the Dawnguard will react." Serana said.

"I will deal with the Dawnguard in due time, and...I was already the thing I swore to destroy while I was the Beast." Sheldon said.

"Well, I hope you're ready for what I have to do to turn you." Serana said.

"I'm ready." Sheldon said, then Serana sighed deeply.

"Turning someone is a very... personal thing for vampires. It's intimate...for us. I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into this." She said.

"You aren't; I asked for this, and it's better than the first time I became a vampire, in every possible way." Sheldon said.

"Still, I know this is difficult for you. I hope you trust me. I'd never do anything that could hurt you." Serana said softly.

"I trust you completely...and if it's as intimate as you claim, then I'm glad you're the one doing it." Sheldon said.

"Thank you. Let's not waste any more time then...hold still." Serana said seriously, then she approached Sheldon, and he turned his head and closed his eyes. Serana then put her hand on Sheldon's head, he tilted his head, and Serana's fangs pierced his neck a second later. Sheldon immediately clenched his fists and breathed deeply, and quickly as his blood flowed into Serana's mouth. Serana remained as motionless as Sheldon did, and her breath flowed over Sheldon's neck as she continued to feed on him.

Eventually, Serana moved away from him, and looked at the intense scowl on Sheldon's face...then he directed his gaze at Serana, and his eyes now matched her own.

"Let's go. My mother must be waiting on the other side of that thing." Serana said seriously, then Sheldon stared at her, turned to the Soul Cairn portal, and slowlyed walked down the stairs as Serana followed him, and rolled her eyes.


As a wise man said, "Now you've unlocked the Beast." But on a serious note, how much do you want to bet that Serana was thinking "What the fuck did I just do?" when Sheldon looked at her like that? I'm pretty sure most people would need to change their underpants, especially given the whole context. Now...I'm pretty sure how Beast Sheldon compares to Dragonborn Sheldon, but that's up next.

In the meantime, please remember to Rate, Review, and Share...and stayed tuned.